1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a device and method for pipeline rehabilitation. More specifically, it pertains to a device and method for rehabilitating the junction of a main pipeline and a building service line.
2. Description of Prior Art
A device for rehabilitating pipe joints is known, for which the positioning means is formed by a shield, the outer contours of which are adapted to the inner contours of the main sewer line in the region of the junction opening, so that it can be pressed against the region of the main sewer line that surrounds the junction opening by means of an extension arm. The extension arm is part of a transport unit, which can move in the main sewer line. The shield is moved in the main sewer line by means of the transport unit and is pressed against the main sewer line by means of the extension arm when it reaches the junction region. There is an outlet opening in the shield through which a lining hose can be passed. For placing the lining hose in the connecting branch of the building service line connecting to the junction opening, the lining hose initially located underneath the shield is charged with compressed air. A tight calibration hose is arranged within the lining hose, which presses the lining hose against the pipe wall of the building service line. The lining hose consists of textile material, which is provided with a curable resin. After the resin cures, the calibration hose, shield, and transport unit are removed, so that a T-shaped pipe wall lines and covers the building service line in the region of its junction and also the section of the pipe wall of the main sewer line surrounding the junction.
A similar device is also known in which the positioning means is called a packer. The packer has a rubber jacket, which is arranged around a carrier pipe and which can be inflated to the diameter of the main line. There is an opening in the carrier pipe and the rubber jacket, which is arranged to correspond with the junction of the building service line. On the rubber jacket, a curable pipe lining is attached, such that a cylindrical hose part within the carrier pipe is arranged underneath the opening. Feeding compressed air into the packer, on the one hand, inflates the rubber jacket until it makes tight contact against the main line, and, on the other hand, moves a rubber cylinder formed on the rubber jacket into the region of the opening through the opening out of the carrier pipe outwards into the building service line and in this way turns the hose part of the lining outwards, so that it is pressed tight against the inner wall of the building service line. After the lining cures, the air is suctioned out of the packer, whereby the cylinder on the rubber jacket is drawn again through the opening into the carrier pipe. The packer can then be removed.
The transporting of such devices through the main line to the junction region of the building service line has proven to be problematic in known devices. In particular, the alignment of the hose-shaped part of the lining to the junction of the building service line is difficult. By shifting this hose-shaped lining section a few centimeters in the axial direction of the main line or by rotating the packer a few degrees, the hose-shaped cylindrical section of the pipe lining is not reliably inverted in the building service line. Deformations can occur, which are made permanent by the curing of this hose-shaped cylindrical section and which lead to an unsealed pipe lining.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for rehabilitating pipe connections, which simplify the reliable transport and positioning of the pipe lining in the junction region of the building service line to be lined.